Brackets announced for Sydney 2022 ATP tennis tournament

SYDNEY - The ATP Cup announced on Tuesday the group brackets for the upcoming tournament that will take place in Sydney, Australia from Jan 1 to 9, 2022.

The ATP Cup will feature 16 country teams, five players each team, in four groups. They will fight over a prize pool of more than 14 million Australian dollars ($9.87 million), an increase from the 10 million Australian dollars that was up for grabs in 2021.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic was confirmed to be among the competitors for the top seeding country, Serbia, despite previously refusing to disclose his vaccination status after the Australian Open announced all players must be vaccinated.

Under current laws, the New South Wales (NSW) government would need to give Djokovic an exemption to enter Sydney and he would be required to complete 14 days of quarantine.

"Top seed Serbia, headlined by world No 1 Novak Djokovic, will lead Group A, which will also feature Norway, Chile and Spain," read the ATP announcement.

He will compete against the defending champion and world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, playing for Russia in Group B which includes Italy, Austria and home nation Australia.

Group C will include Germany, Canada, Britain and the United States. Greece, Poland, Argentina and Georgia will compete in Group D.

Other top contenders include Alexander Zverev playing for team Germany, Stefanos Tsitsipas playing for Greece, and Andrey Rublev playing for Russia.

For the home team world No 34 Alex de Minaur and No 49 James Duckworth will compete for Australia.

ATP Chief Tour Officer Ross Hutchins said the 2022 line-up "speaks for itself" and Sydney would make an ideal place to kick off the 2022 tennis season.

"We're delighted that fans will be able to see so many of the world's best representing their countries in the opening week of the season and we look forward to a fantastic event," said Hutchins.

The third annual 2022 ATP Cup will span nine days in two Sydney tennis venues - the Ken Rosewall Arena and Qudos Bank Arena both in Sydney Olympic Park.